(Turk. Izmir), the most important commercial city of Asiatic Turkey, on the south shore of the gulf of the same name, near its head, N. Lat. 38° 25', E. Long. 27° 9'; about 210 miles S.S.W. of Constantinople. The situation is very fine. High mountains covered with forests inclose the gulf on all sides at a little distance, and close to the town there is a hill, the ancient Mons Pagus, now surmounted by a castle. On the western slope of this hill, and on a triangular plain between it and the sea, Smyrna is built; its houses, domes, minarets, towers, and cypress-trees rising with a fine effect from the margin of the sea. The interior of the town, however, like that of most others in Turkey, is by no means so pleasant. The streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty; the houses frail and wretched, being built, except in the Frank quarter, almost exclusively of wood. There are four different quarters in Smyrna, inhabited by different nations. The Turks occupy the upper part of the city, on the slopes of the hill; beneath them, on the lower slopes and centre of the plain, is the Armenian quarter; the Jews are confined to two or three small interstices between the two former; and the Franks occupy the best part of Smyrna, along the shore for about two miles. There is excellent anchorage in the bay, and the water is so deep as to allow large vessels to lie close to the shore. A series of quays extends along the margin of the bay, lined with many handsome stone-houses and whitewashed warehouses. Among the public buildings are several bazaars constructed of wood, dark and intricate, but stored with a profusion of various silk, woollen, and cotton goods. The vizier-khan is formed out of the remains of the ancient theatre. On the summit of the hill stands the extensive castle, occupying the site, and partially built with the remains of the ancient acropolis. It has a very incongruous appearance, as it has been frequently repaired, and is now deserted, though still mounted with a few cannons. Within the enclosure is a ruined mosque, said to have been the primitive Christian church of Smyrna. The present mosques are nineteen in number, all open to Christian visitors. The largest is profusely decorated with lamps, ostrich eggs, and horse tails, suspended from the ceiling. Smyrna has also seven synagogues; Protestant, Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian churches; a convent, Greek college, governor's palace, hospital, and barracks. Consuls from Great Britain, the United States, and most of the continental nations, have residences in the European part of Smyrna. The Turkish burying-ground, on the way up to the castle, is large and ancient, and contains many tall cypress-trees. The climate of Smyrna is very hot; as the surrounding mountains concentrate upon it the rays of the sun, and this, together with the crowded and dirty state of the town, renders it very unhealthy. The plague occasionally makes its appearance, and commits great ravages. It is to its trade that the town owes its great importance, and all its activity and animation. During the fruit season, long strings of camels are continually entering the town from all parts of Asia Minor. Figs, raisins, and other fruit, as well as silk, cotton, oil, opium, skins, &c., are exported; while coffee, sugar, indigo, tin, iron, lead, cotton cloth, rum, and brandy are imported. During the Russian war of 1854-6, the trade of Smyrna attained an extent previously unprecedented; but in the commercial crisis of 1857 it suffered considerably. The following table exhibits the value of exports and imports to and from the different countries that trade with Smyrna in 1858.

| Countries | Exports | Imports | |--------------------|---------|---------| | Great Britain | £1,059,540 | 944,197 | | Turkish ports | 185,542 | 579,935 | | Austria | 433,669 | 325,587 | | France | 283,628 | 356,693 | | America | 163,445 | 168,212 | | East Indies | 92,628 | | | Holland | 15,123 | 34,190 | | Scandinavia | 10,757 | 32,722 | | Greece | 15,410 | 31,692 | | Turkey | 16,108 | 20,116 | | Russia | 35,819 | | | Belgium | 3,707 | 25,695 | | Malta | 8,110 | 15,360 | | Ionian Islands | 11,543 | 2,805 | | Hanse Towns | 5,385 | | | Two Sicilies | 4,087 | 491 | | Papal States | 612 | 3,600 | | Gibraltar | 1,500 | |

Total: 2,345,450

The number of vessels that entered the harbour in 1855 was 1805, tonnage 420,438; those that cleared 1771, tonnage 411,157, exclusive of the steam navigation. Six journals are published at Smyrna, in five different languages. Steamers ply to Constantinople, Marseilles, Malta, and other ports in the Mediterranean. The town is said to be of great antiquity; and if we may believe some traditions, it derived its origin as well as its name from an Amazon called Smyrna. It is regarded by some as having been originally a colony of Ephesus, subsequently occupied by the Æolians; but the account given by Herodotus represents it as first colonized by the latter, who possessed it till the year 688 B.C. It was then, by the machinations of some exiles from Colophon, transferred to the Ionian League, of which it formed the thirteenth city. Gyges, King of Lydia, made an unsuccessful attack upon the city; but a subsequent monarch, Sadyattes, about 627 B.C., took and destroyed it. From this time Smyrna lay in ruins for about 400 years. The design of Alexander to rebuild the city was cut short by his death, but afterwards resumed by Antigonus, and completed by Lysimachus. The new city, which did not occupy precisely the site of the old, became one of the finest then existing. It had regular, well-paved, handsome streets, several squares and porticoes, temples, and other public buildings. It was the largest as well as the most wealthy and commercial city in Asia Minor. Although in the civil war that followed the death of Caesar, it was partially destroyed by Dolabella; yet it speedily recovered its former prosperity. After the Christian era, Smyrna was the seat of one of the earliest churches, one of the seven mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, is said to have been the first bishop; and he suffered martyrdom at an advanced age, about 167 A.D. In ancient times, as in modern, Smyrna seems to have been peculiarly subject to earthquakes; in 178 it was destroyed by one, but rebuilt by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Under the Eastern Empire, towards the time of its downfall, Smyrna experienced many vicissitudes of fortune. Near the end of the eleventh century, the city, having been occupied by a Turkish chieftain, called Tzachas, was nearly destroyed by a Greek fleet. It was rebuilt by the Emperor Cononens, and afterwards came into the hands of the Genoese, who retained it till 1364. Tamerlane captured it in 1402, and soon after it came finally into the possession of the Turks, its present masters. It has suffered very frequently from earthquakes, conflagrations, and the plague. In July 1841, upwards of 12,000 houses were destroyed here by fire; and in 1846 an earthquake inflicted great damage. Smyrna was one of the many cities that contended for the honour of having given birth to Homer; and in the opinion of modern scholars, it is the one which has most in its favour. The city in ancient times possessed a Homereum or temple to the great poet; and a cave was pointed out in the vicinity where he wrote his poems. The population of Smyrna at the present day is estimated at about 150,000; of whom about 80,000 are Turks, 40,000 Greeks, 15,000 Jews, 10,000 Armenians, and 5000 Franks.